Ronald Brown

1937 - 2019

Ronald J. Brown

July 21, 1937 - November 17, 2019

We lost our beloved Ron Brown after a long and valiant struggle with Parkinson's disease. He leaves his wife Teresa (Teri) Boucher, daughters Karen Hill and Kristen Malone, son-in-law Stan Hill, and grandsons Billy and Matt Malone, as well as extended family and many dear friends.

Ron was born and raised in the Rochester, NY area and graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in chemical engineering and a MA in education. He taught math and statistics briefly and then became a beloved High School principal. He loved the students and used to tell great stories about those years. His daughters were born during this time in the Rochester area, with his first wife, Gail. He then left the education field and joined Xerox, working in sales and then contracts. In 1990 he transferred to the SF Bay Area as major contract negotiator for the Western District. He met Teri and they married in 1991.

Ron was a singer with a beautiful bass voice and an outgoing personality. He enjoyed performing in Pittsford musicals, but he most dearly loved barbershop music. He performed in barbershop choruses and quartets in both the Rochester area (perhaps most notably the Sunnysiders) and the SF Bay Area. He is fondly remembered in Teri's former Sweet Adelines chorus for his role as the Big Bad Wolf. Then in 2006, he and Teri both joined Masterworks Chorale, where he continued singing and making wonderful musical friends.

Ron's family was his first love. In addition to music, his other passions were the cats who (one at a time) graced the Brown-Boucher home, and sports, especially the SF Giants and the SJ Sharks. His part-time retirement job for several years was as a tour guide at the Giants' ballpark. As we used to say, "where's the downside? Walk around the ballpark in the sunshine and fresh air and talk about baseball!" Also notable was Ron's sweet tooth, particularly for Stever's candies in Rochester, where he was known as the Marshmallow Bunny Man (and was possibly their biggest customer around Easter every year).

A celebration of Ron's life will be held in January or February 2020. Donations in his memory to Masterworks Chorale (masterworks.org), the Peninsula Humane Society (phs-spca.org) or your favorite barbershop or Sweet Adelines organization would be most appreciated.